A necessity for anyone writing a persuasive essay. It is clearly laid out, easy to follow and very informative. An excellent reference piece for all college students and very inexpensive. I was pleased to have this book after the class that required it was over. I still have 2 chapters left unread so I'll be rereading this for next semester most likely when I take another writing class. ( )

Concise and Precise

This concise introduction to critical thinking presents rules for clear thinking, valid communications, and creating and assessing persuasive arguments. Its 87 brief pages are readily accessible to high school students, and useful to anyone interested in offering correct evidence and valid reasons to support conclusions. When so much of what we read, hear, and see is intended to persuade us, or even mislead us, it is important to distinguish valid arguments from careless or manipulative ones.

If good writing is clear thinking made visible, then this book provides excellent advice for writers. As a rulebook, it begins by presenting 30 rules for clearly constructing a valid case supporting your conclusion. It then turns to applying these rules for writing argumentative essays. It also treats fallacies and includes an appendix on correct use of definitions. The author recognizes this book is only an introduction to these topics and provides a good list of further reading.

Fallacies are seductive and often go unnoticed and unchallenged. In this book, many fallacies are described alongside the rules they violate. A short chapter then names and briefly describes many types of fallacies. I would have liked to see this expanded. We have long recognized sexist and racist language and work to purge it from use. I look forward to a time when a broader set of fallacies will be routinely recognized and corrected in everyday conversation. Perhaps then it will be common to interrupt the speaker to say something like: "Excuse me, but you just used the fallacy of modus ponens by affirming the consequent. Please correct that logic error before proceeding." ( )

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